Why People Don’t Go to SXSW

On the subject of tech conferences and why / when they’re worth going to, Michael at Cruftbox has listed a few reasons why he won’t travel to Austin this year for SXSW, making the argument that it’s now more of a business conference than a conference for individuals. Naturally a lot of this evolution stems from the event’s growth over time, and expansion beyond the initial idea around connecting people and ideas. That said, there’s a valid argument being made for what the individual stands to gain from such a multi-directional approach to conferences as we commonly know them.

I’ve said this for the last three or so years – if you want to get the most out of SXSW Interactive and really connect to individuals and ideas, and have meaningful conversations, that’s up to you, not the event – for better or for worse.